


As seen by Alec

by CMDAK



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Nosy Alec Trevelyan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 05:36:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8150980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMDAK/pseuds/CMDAK
Summary: Things were never the same when he returned from a long mission. And this time was the same story, except that what shocked him the most was the changed James Bond and the 'child' that was his Quartermaster.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The story started out as a joke in the FB community comment section and then my muse insisted on writing it down.
> 
> Please enjoy <3

For whatever dumb reason, he had been under the impression that things would be the same when he would finally be done with the deep undercover mission he had been stuck on for the last two years – or rather, he had hoped that would be the case. But the world never stopped for anyone, no matter how hard they wish for that, and he returned to an entirely different London and MI6.

 

Their old building lied in shambles across their new one, there were laws that forbade you to go over 20 in some zones which was beyond ridiculous as Alec moved faster if he simply ran, the new building was as high-tech as they came save for a bloody hologram greeting you and asking you to show it your barcode, and the number cruncher hag that once reigned with an iron fist had been replaced by a robot that simply had to been built by a half-blind – if the thickness of his lenses were to be believed – child that posed as the Quartermaster.

 

“I had no idea that MI6 now doubled as an after school,” he exclaimed as he circled around the multi-coloured stick of a man that happily typed away at his laptop that looked as if it had survived multiple shootings. “Or is this Mallory endorsing child labour?”

 

The boffin let out a long, tired sigh as he rolled his eyes. “Welcome back, 006,” he said robotically and pushed a button which caused something to pop out from the table and hit him in the stomach. “Please put what is left of your equipment in there.”

 

He smiled sheepishly and showed Q his empty hands which caused the young man to shake his head and mutter something about unruly agents and their lack of respect for other's hard work.

 

“Are you the one who made the last three batches of gadgets or were they completed by the good major before he retired?” He asked, genuinely curious because he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that someone so young could be the real Quartermaster.

 

And the question seemed to offend this new Q on a deep level because he gave him a look full of anger and even hatred. “006,” he started and straightened his back as if he was trying to somehow tower over him, “whether you like it or not, I am your Quartermaster. I made your equipment, I personally sent you the upgraded parameters of your mission, and I made sure to cover your arse when you almost exposed yourself.”

 

“But you look so—”

 

“Age is no guarantee of efficiency and if you mention any spots, I will personally drag you to Medical to get your eyes checked,” he snapped and then pointed at a side-door. “Go in there to get a blood test done just to be sure that you are healthy and nanomachine-free, wash, and change into fresh clothes if you so wish. 007,” new Q’s features instantly softened and Alec made note of that, “has just entered his downtime and I am sure he can't wait to go bar hopping with you.”

 

By the time he was done showering and dodging nurses who wanted to take more of his blood because they were vampires undercover, the irked kitten that appeared to be his new Quartermaster had been replaced by a grinning James who wasted no time in dragging him out of the new MI6 building and shoving him in an Aston Martin that looked too normal not to have any special upgrades.

 

“The boffin Overlord would be beyond crossed with me if I showed you what this baby can do in the middle of London,” was James’ surprising answer at his request. “But after we sober up tomorrow, I am sure that Q will let us use the MI6 tracks to our hearts’ desire.”

 

Alec laughed because surely James was just pulling his leg. Any moment now, he would push a button just to show off what he had managed to snag from MI6 and then invite him to push some himself. But when ten minutes passed and all James had done was respect the traffic law, Alec was ready to call Medical on his ass.

 

“What kind of a scourge is this lowercase Q that he's managed to subdue you?” Because short of this James not being the real one, there was no other explanation as to why he would be acting so clean.

 

James chuckled. “He's not a scourge; he's kind when he has to. But he’s no pushover either, despite looking like the poster-child for that. He can bring entire countries down to their knees while having a runny nose and a high fever if his favourite agents are in trouble.” His friend's face lit up in a strange way when he said that, patting his own chest. “He'll lock up the car the second I even so much as brush my fingers against any of the buttons which, by the way, do not work of you since your fingerprints aren't in the car's ‘friends and allies’ system.”

 

This warning was a clear sign that they had been away from each other for a long time because James us to know that he would take it as a dare which is exactly what happened. He waited until they were on a reasonably empty street before he pushed a button – marked ‘speed’ – and he needed a moment to realize what had happened. His body had been traversed by a cold current and his ears were ringing and when he finally was able to make sense of the world around him, James was cuss-explaining to a miffed looking lowercase Q what had happened.

 

“ _I told you to let him fuck around with the car on the MI6 testing tracks **before** going to the city, did I not?_ ” Q was scolding him as I'd he were a wife putting her husband in his place for doing something stupid.

 

And James actually looked embarrassed by the scolding! His friend, the man who stole the old major's boat because he had always wanted to chase someone in a boat like that while they were on land, the man who nicked a hot-air balloon that belonged to an ambassador of this or that country because he wanted to bang a duchess, and who did not bat a single eyelash when he was being scolded by the PM himself, now listened with a slightly lowered head to what a college kid was saying.

 

“I told him what would have happened,” James lied in their defence, patting Alec’s still numb leg. “But Alec is Alec and he wanted to test things out for his own.”

 

Q hummed, narrowing his eyes when he turned to look at him. “ _006, I expect you to visit me in my branch tomorrow so I can add your fingerprints to everything that James handles._ ”

 

“Well, not _everything_ ,” James chimed in, chuckling as Q ended the conversation with a long sigh and a shake of the head, the engine springing back to life almost instantly.

 

“You bloody bastard, you said that he’ll lock down the car, not that he’ll try to kill me,” Alec wheezed out. “I am also starting to think that you aren't pulling my leg about this kid being the actual Quartermaster.” He leaned over to punch James’ shoulder and _missed_ by a mile, but at least he could now move. “Tell me, did he discover the fountain of youth or is he an honest-to-god child genius?”

 

That dreamy look was back on James’ face and it frankly freaked Alec because his friend looked like that only when he was infatuated with a pair of pretty eyes and generous cleavage. “He's six years our junior, Alec, so he might have found that. As for him being a genius…” He trailed off and smiled, nodding towards the button that had shocked the consciousness out of him.

 

“Okay, kid’s a genius and I won't push any buttons that are attached to things he created if you tell me not to do it,” he wisely conceded.

 

As the night progressed, Alec understood that he had also returned to a new James. His friend was still loads of fun, their ‘secret’ language was still intact, he still drank like alcohol was nothing more than water, and he was still his wingman. The part where his friend had changed was when it came to getting himself friends for the night as in, he didn’t want any and he went out of his way to make sure he didn’t have anyone latched to his side.

 

Which was a huge shame – as well as an alarm – because he had changed something about the way he approached the fairer sex because he was now surrounded by them and they looked at him with even more need and want than they had in the past, but he didn’t allow a single one jumped in his lap, he kindly turned their offers down, and he frowned if one tried to insist on getting him to change his mind.

 

“Did you get your _equipment_ blown off or something?” Alec asked him directly when they were in the bathroom, even peeking over the stall to make sure that everything was still there.

 

James even turned a bit to give him a better look, uncaring of the glares they received from the man that had just entered the bathroom. “I had my balls beaten to an inch of falling off during one mission, but I assure you that everything is still working just fine down here.”

 

“Then what's wrong? Are you sick?” He asked, genuinely worried and if his hands were clean, he would have touched the other's forehead just to be sure that he wasn't running a fever. “Are you about to go in a mission? Not that the latter ever stopped you from enjoying yourself.”

 

James smiled and shook his head. “You are uncharacteristically acting like a mother hen tonight, Alec, so maybe I should be the one asking you if you are okay.” He ignored the glare he got. “Just relax and enjoy yourself. And don’t worry about the state of your hellhole; Q made sure to keep them from selling it and had a cleaning crew pop in yesterday to clean it up.”

 

Alec left with one woman and one man that were more than eager to please him while James left with a smile and a wave. He had asked his friend to join them since this was something they frequently did in the past, but James also turned him down as he patted his own chest again.

 

In the wee hours of the morning, when his companions sneaked out of the very clean and cared for apartment – the flowers he had received as gag-gifts from 004 and 009 were still alive for the love of God – he was obsessing over why James had changed so much. It wasn’t an unwelcomed change and his friend looked happy, but he was curious and he _felt_ that something was being kept from him. And a little voice in his head that was active only when he was in his ‘agent’ mode told him to cherchez la femme – in this case, cherchez le Quartermaster, or whatever the French equivalent of that title was.

 

His self-imposed mission started the following day by not leaving Q's office after the other was done adding his fingerprints to ‘almost everything that Bond handled’ and he honestly expected to be thrown out. But Q allowed him to linger around and his little workers – none which Alec recognised since the last time he had been in here – easily adjusted their paths to avoid him without looking up from their tablets.

 

“You're like a bee-queen,” he spoke up suddenly and visibility startled Q who almost dropped whatever he was working on.

 

“Are you using that term in the way American hip-hop artists do?” Q asked, arching his eyebrow. “Or are you picking on my black and yellow cardigan?”

 

Alec laughed and drew closer to the man, expecting him to be skittish and scoot away from him, maybe even start hissing at him given that for whatever reason, he had returned from his lunch with even wilder hair than before that made him look like a cat. But Q kept his cool and his position, even pushing Alec a bit away from his table.

 

“If you are bored, take that gun over there and follow me to the shooting range,” Q ordered and Alec felt compelled to do as he was told if only because he had been allowed to touch such a light weapon that felt like it was deadly. “It's a prototype so please do your best not to Bond it.”

 

“Bond it?” Alec asked, trailing after Q. “You younglings use the damnedest lingo nowadays,” he said in a mock-frail voice, getting ready to use the gun as a walking cane until Q tugged on his ear to stop him.

 

“What you were planning to is what Bond-ing up something means,” Q explained, eye twitching and surprising Alec because surely he was aware that he was treating a deadly assassin like a child. “I also expect you to wear protection goggles and gloves on top of a bulletproof vest.”

 

“The day I wear a bulletproof vest—”

 

“Is today,” Q interrupted him, eyes narrowed. “You will because I don't want you to die on your downtime and due to friendly fire.” How could Alec turn down someone whose careless masked cracked for a moment to show worry and horror at the thought of accidentally hurting an agent?

 

The gun was lots of fun and it almost didn't have any recoil at all. It also had a few features that Alec loved because the bloody thing could shoot with knives and it had four rounds of explosives on it that made the nicest fire. This weapon had to be his, he decided and quickly made his way to the room from which Q oversaw the tests, slowing down and ducking behind the door when he heard muffled voices.

 

“—say that he likes it. Your mind never ceases to amaze me, Q,” James was saying and Alec peeked in the room, taking note of the fact that his friend was giving the inventor a back massage. “Now, how about those exploding pens that I like so much?”

 

Ah, that explained the closeness between the two. James tended to be an octopus when he wanted something and while not ass kissing, he pushed just the right buttons to—

 

“You blew up Mallory’s office the last time I gave you a set, Bond,” Q said coldly, shrugging James’ hands off. “Speaking of which, I expect to get a good talk to for this as it is no secret that 006 has a tendency to revel in destruction and I might have gone overboard with his new toy that probably won't see the second mission. Isn't that right, 006?”

 

It was rare for Alec to be caught off guard and rarer still not to result in a life-threatening wound. “Well, I can promise you that I will do my best not to do anything more than scratch it,” he said honestly and Q smiled. “How about you and I—”

 

James cleared his throat and slipped between the two, pushing Q behind him as he almost hit Alec in the face with a black box. “I forgot to give you this last night, Alec.”

 

It was the first time that James acted in a way that would have cockblocked him, but not the last. On a hunch – and because Q was pleasing to the eye – Alec tried to land himself an innocent lunch with his Quartermaster, but James was quick to intervene and whisk him away while Q looked on with amusement.

 

The third time it happened, Alec realized that James was in love. James Bond, Casanova by nature, the man whose favourite sport was bed hopping, had fallen in love. And by the way he acted around Q, bringing him his cup of tea, rubbing his back if he considered that the boffin – or rather _his_ boffin, because James glared with so much hatred at the other agents who joked or praised or leaned against Q that Alec was afraid that he would have to pull him off of some of them, especially 009 – spent too much time hunched over a project, Alec was sure that James was truly, madly, deeply in real love.

 

One incident that managed to open his eyes even more was a particularly hard mission that Q had overseen. The agent on it was the newly named 001 and man was young, hot headed, and refused to listen to the perfect instructions Q was giving him – and it was truly a marvel to watch the young man work; to see him hit the keyboard as if he was a pianist lost in the madness of creating the perfect song while he nudged his head in a direction and his flock of followers _knew_ what was expected of them.

 

“Get the extraction team to do the rest,” Q snapped, throwing his glasses to the side so he could rub his eyes. “Send the CIA our gratitude for intervening so fast and throw them a bone with a bit of meat on it, but not too much. They still owe us for Moscow.”

 

If Alec were asked, 001 deserved that bullet in his stomach, the one in his back, and the two others in his right leg, but Q _cared_. Q took it personal. Q considered that mission to be a failure even if the numbskull of an agent was still alive and on his way back to London with the information.

 

“R!” James barked and a petite woman appeared out of nowhere, wearing glasses that were thicker than Q’s and brown hair just a tad more tamed than the bird’s nest the that supreme boffin had. “Please have medical inform me when that—”

 

“ _James_ ,” Q said in a pleading voice that could probably compel all the leaders of the world to listen and do as they were told. “I just need a few minutes to clear out my head after which, I would be really grateful if—”

 

“Sorry boss, but no other projects planned for today and I seem to have lots the card, the key, and forgotten the password to the room where you keep the side ones,” the woman said quickly and James nodded his thanks in her direction even as Q sent her a half-attempt at a glare. “I’ll get started at the tea,” she told James, the man already tugging Q to his feet and steering him in the direction of his office.

 

Alec made to follow them, worried and wanting to be of help, but James waved him away. “I can handle this, don’t worry.” Q hesitated for a moment before resting his head on James’ chest and the man’s hand automatically flew to the side of his face, softly caressing it. “Go on home and I promise that we’ll play with the new guns tomorrow, okay?”

 

Q was back to his normal, snarky, and no bullshit taking self the following day, acting as if he hadn’t almost lost an agent. But Alec peeked over his shoulder every now and then and noticed that the Quartermaster was working on improving the basic equipment the agents used on the field as well as writing a report which included tips on how the new generation of double oh agents should be trained and tested prior to being sent out in the field.

 

He snuck out and bought Q a bag of pastries and a steaming cup of the most expensive tea the shops near Vauxhall sold, surprising him when he put them next to his keyboard with an hour before James usually did this. “You care about the agents.” Not a question, but an exclamation filled with surprise.

 

“As did the Major,” Q said carefully, eyeing the bag and the cup. “Do you want anything from me, 006?”

 

“Call me Alec already, okay?” He prompted, winking. “And I did not mean to imply that he didn’t, but that he rightly didn’t give himself a hard time over the agents who refused to use their brains and listen to the voice of reason.”

 

Q frowned. “He did.” He pushed the treats away and started to type again. “He was just a lot more cool and collected than I and knew how to hide that.”

 

Hesitantly, Alec rested his hand on Q’s shoulder and squeezed. “I never did thank you for how well you’ve taken care of me on my mission, did I? Especially during the time the original building was bombed and when ‘Nine Eyes’ almost became a thing. It couldn’t have been easy to hide my mission from Spectre.”

 

“I am not entirely sure that they didn’t know about it,” Q admitted, taking a sip of the offered tea. “They probably left you alone because they thought I would be forced to choose between you and…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “You are welcomed, Alec.” He bestowed on him an honest smile, the mask of a well-rested and unaffected man cracking just enough to show how much of a human he really was. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still have a lot of work to do before today ends.”

 

He did as he was asked as he finally understood why his friend looked so love-struck whenever he talked about Q and he was frankly surprised that he didn’t see people lining up at his door to proclaim their love for him – then again, James had probably scared everyone off and judging by the way Q had acted the day prior, showing his weak side to him and allowing him to comfort him, the younger man had no quarrel with that.

 

Later that night, while James was drinking an Irish coffee with extra Irish in it and passing those interested in a one night rumble between the sheets over to him, Alec presented his loyalty towards the new Quartermaster as only he could. “Something has just occurred to me, James,” he started and motioned his would-be lovers away, getting James’ full and undivided attention as he did so. “How about I join you on our little _talk_ tomorrow with this new 001?”

 

James grinned. “Why, Alec, my dear friend… You are more than welcomed to do so.”

 

They had to do a bit of sneaking around as Medical was filled to the brim with security agents and suspicious looking nurses that clearly had tranquilising guns on them. Clearly they were on the defence about something and as Alec glanced at the fuming James, he got a pretty idea what they were on the lookout for.    

 

“I was wondering when you’d show up,” 001 spat, looking away from them. “Here to defend your precious Q?”

 

For the first time in his life, Alec had to play the man with reason and he grabbed on to James before the man could throw himself over the wounded man and start either throttling him or beating him into a bloody pulp.

 

After making sure that James had enough control over his anger, Alec leaned over the wounded agent and forced him to look at him. “Kid, I’ll give you a free tip and you’d do best to listen well.” He tapped his forehead rather hard, making him flinch and wince in pain. “What the Quartermaster says when you are out on a mission, is law, do you understand?”

 

“But it isn’t for bloody 007, now is it?” The wounded man accused, glaring at them. “How many times did you have the Quartermaster dance to your tune, hmm? He’s an unmoving rock when it comes to us having ideas outside of the mission parameters, but the second you open your mouth, he’s a bloody leaf in the wind and twists and bends to your will,” the foolish man continued to talk and Alec looked around for some sort of pliers.

 

“I have years of experience above everyone else here,” James snapped. “And he doesn’t _always_ let me go offline, something that I am quite grateful for as he saved my life more times than I could count. And if you ever _dare_ to refuse to sit down when Q tells you to because you are surrounded by enemies and you live, I will be your—”

 

“006, 007, you best be gone from there when I come back with Mallory,” Miss Moneypenny warned without opening the door, the two of them vacating the room as soon as they couldn’t hear the click-clack of her heels on the marvel floor.

 

“James,” Q greeted them – or actually, just James; he seemed unaware that they weren’t alone in the room filled with other boffins who were all snickering while typing.

 

“I didn’t harm a single hair on that empty head of his,” James said in his defence.

 

“ _James_ ,” Q said again, his posh voice just half of an octave lower.

 

“You won’t get me to promise not to do it again, Quartermaster,” James grumbled and easily followed Q into his office, the door closing before Alec could do the same and the windows instantly turning black.

 

James spent the night in his apartment that night, sour and grumbling, but still refusing to get himself a temporary lover or to talk about _why_ he wasn’t sleeping in his own apartment – Alec assumed that Q probably locked him out to teach him a lesson and he was thankful that the younger man’s wrath didn’t extend to him because he quite liked watering his plants and drinking his coffee that never seemed to end.

 

“I think you and the Quartermaster should screw,” Alec said simply as James tapped away at his phone the following morning. “I am sure that he’ll forgive you if you do that special thing with your hips you always did that had your past lovers quivering in pure pleasure under you.”

 

The reply he got was a strong kick under the table. But Alec refused to be deterred from his new, self-appointed mission, and namely to get the two to either bump uglies and get each other out of their system or to get them to become and honest to god couple – which might spell out the end of MI6’s superiors, but he didn’t really care about that. He trusted that the two could keep the world safe, Q with his genius and James with his deadliness.

 

He started to trip either James or Q when the other was within reach, whisked Q as often as he could on lunch where he proceeded to paint James as a great lover he truly was – mentioning that they did share a bed every now and then, but they were friends and nothing else, he promised – and tried to point out Q’s backside – bless the tight but colourful suits the man wore – and the shape of his mouth and how his hair just _begged_ to have strong fingers run through it and to be tugged.

 

When it became clear that his words were not helping, Alec adopted a form of guerrilla tactics. He dragged everyone out and just sat back and pointed out to James how many people were hitting on Q. That ended up with James planting himself by Q’s side, the younger man finally relaxing when that happened and starting to happily type away at his phone, leaning close to James to explain what he was doing – but not with them in each other’s bed.

 

So he busted out the spray paint and covered the walls in Q’s branch in little messages that literally spelled out that he and 007 were meant for each other, all the boffins snickering amongst themselves but letting him do what he wanted – and something told Alec that they did that not because they were afraid of him, but because they knew something he didn’t and that irked him so much.

 

To be a double oh agent and not to know something that was happening right in his own agency was killing him. It was an affront brought to the world of spies by him not being able to figure out what exactly was going on, but he promised himself that he would clear that little mystery up as soon as he did his good deed for the decade and brought the two numbskulls together.

 

Anyway, back to the task at hand, Q walked out of his office and let out a very long and very tired sigh, eyeing him. “006—”

 

“James is ‘ _James’_ when he’s in trouble and I am 006. How very interesting,” he pointed out loud and then elbowed the very unamused looking Q. “But I don’t mind. Do you know that you can say that name in a very different tone, one that’s a bit shaky—” Q threw his hands up in the air, rolled his eyes and slammed the door to his office shut. “You two should screw, is what I am saying!” He called out and got a hard slap upside his head, curtesy of James.

 

“I understand that you are bored Alec and I am very sorry that you’re forced to waste away for half an year until they’ll deem you fit to even be considered to be sent back out on a mission,” James hissed, arm wrapped around Alec’s neck as he showed him out, “but don’t ruin Q’s domain after he spent two years fixing it.” He stopped and turned Alec, grinning in that was of his that spelled danger. “You _will_ paint over your little art is what I am saying.”

 

“Only because you asked me so nicely, James,” Alec quipped back and before anyone knew it, the two of them were wrestling in the training room, the double oh agents that were present clapping and placing their bets in which of them would win while the newer agents watched terrified, unsure if it was okay for them to just watch or if they were supposed to call the guards to pull the deadly men apart.

 

A week later, James was sent on a mission. Q had been coming down with a cold for the past three days, but he still insisted on dressing James up from his mission, though he had made sure to wear a thing that was a pair of glasses away from being a hazmat suit.

 

“You should have stayed at home, Q,” James scolded him, resting the back of his hand against his forehead while also slowly removing the pieces of cloth that covered his face with his other hand. “You’re running a fever and you’re as pale as a ghost, Q! Things can only—”

 

“I promise that I’ll get Medical to send me home as soon as I am done sending you on your way,” Q interrupted him and leaned for a moment against his hand, smiling. “Do be careful, please.”

 

“Darling Quartermaster, aren’t I always?” James murmured and Alec felt like he was intruding on a very intimate moment. He was sure they were going to share a kiss or at least a nose bump, but then Mallory had to ruin everything by clearing his throat to get their attention.

 

“We are on a tight schedule, gentlemen,” he softly reminded the room and James covered Q back up, quickly took the box of gadgets, repeated what he was told they did as if he was a parrot and then asked Alec to make sure Q gets to medical.

 

Alec wanted to go a step further and ask Q to let him take him home, but the man turned him down, citing his fear of getting Alec sick as the reason why. “Plus, I don’t really think that you should spend your entire downtime babysitting me, Alec. Go out and have fun with the other agents who have been buzzing around you ever since you returned. Or buy some paint and fix my…” He trailed off and turned away from Alec, sneezing so hard that he obviously became dizzy.

 

“Still, I should get you—”

 

“To Medical, yes,” the stubborn boffin insisted and Alec ended up agreeing not to drive him home – but he gave his driver a good talk, making sure he understood just what would happen if the Quartermaster didn’t get home safe and sound.

 

After that, he started to get bored. R was in charge of James’ mission and she checked in with you periodically to inform him of what 007 had done. Miss Moneypenny was busy running whatever Mallory needed and checking up on Q every other day. 001 was no longer 001, but a lower-tire agent who had been shipped off to special courses in Antarctica. Tanner was a great husband and father, and Alec couldn’t find it in himself to disrespect the man so much as to take him to the bars he usually enjoyed. The other agents were either away on a mission, on vacation, or were deadweight when compared to Alec when it came to drinking.

 

“You could fix Q’s walls?” Eve said offhandedly, not looking away from what she was typing.

 

Alec completely ignored her. “It’s no fun picking up anyone without a wingman,” he muttered and Eve sighed.

 

“I can give you a list of stores that have cheap, but good paint.” Her insistence fell on deaf ears.

 

“I am not a big fan of books, and I already caught up with a lot of movies and TV series curtesy of Q,” Alec continued, rubbing his chin. “Sometimes I wish they’d let me waste ammo or let Q turn…” He trailed off as it dawned on him that while his gaming console had suffered an ‘accident’ when a fourteen year old snipped him and he, in turn, ‘snipped’ his console. But James’ console was perfectly fine. “I know what I’ll do.”

 

“Paint over your horrible drawings in Q’s branch?” Eve said drily, now tapping her perfectly manicured fingers against her desk.

 

“I shall play videogames!” He announced proudly and Eve facepalmed, cussing all immature double oh agents or something like that.

 

He lost James’ keys so many times that the other simply told him to break in his apartment when he wanted something and then give MI6 a call. So imagine his shock when he felt all of his air and senses leave his body the second he finally got the bloody door open. Worse still, two creatures with claws, fangs, and tails descended at him and Alec was realized that he could still _feel_.

 

“Darlings, don’t put 006 in your mouth,” a scratchy voice was heard from somewhere inside the apartment, followed by the sound of feet shuffling. “You have no idea where he’s been,” Q finished saying and leaned down a little, waving his hand over the shocked agent. “Don’t worry about MI6 busting down the door; I called in to let them know that you’ll be the one breaking in before you were shocked.” Alec glared and Q tried to grin. “Now, what the bloody hell are you doing here?”

 

It was clear by now that Q had a fetish for electrocuting people and Alec was quite happy that he was on their side. He didn’t pity the enemies that bumped into Q as, in all honestly, being unable to move for five minutes and probably pissing yourself was preferred to still being able to breathe and live at the end of the encounter – but he still wished Q would stop shocking _him_.

 

Alec counted the four minutes and thirty-five seconds it took him until he managed to for actual words and not pathetic moans and whines, the feverish Q – even he felt how hot his hands were when the man grabbed his legs and he was still having a hard time feeling the floor under him – doing his best to drag him inside the apartment, task made harder by the demonic cats had taken up residence on his chest and had the gall to purr.

 

“I had no idea James switched apartments.” Because, for what he saw, this apartment was clearly lived in. There were no boxes like James tended to keep in his, the walls were covered in tasteful paintings, the bookshelves actually had books, he was lying on a fluffy carpet, and he saw a bottle of water on the coffee table that kind of looked like James’.

 

Q tried to chuckle, but that ended in a coughing fit and by then, Alec was able to stand on his own two feet and he guided the man to the sofa, rubbing his back and looking around for some sort of a coughing syrup or a nice, big bottle of brandy which was what he used as medicine when he was sick.

 

“Bedroom; left side,” Q wheezed out, his cats rubbing themselves against his legs, mewling and looking at Alec as if they were expecting him to do something – he swore he hadn’t drank anything that day and he wasn’t going insane.

 

Alec rushed to the bedroom, forgetting everything about Q’s coughing fit and the bottle that would temporarily relieve him of his pain when his eyes landed on the picture frame that was resting on the left bed stand. He rubbed his eyes once, then twice, then picked the frame up and brought it really close to his face, then grabbed Q’s spare glasses from the other bed stand – and Christ, the kid was blind without them, that was for sure – and then finally started to laugh.

 

“I must admit that the dark green suit that you wore in this picture suited you quite fine,” he called out and just as he had expected, not a moment later did he have an armful of Q who was trying to get back the frame. “And this is the second time I see James dressed in his old uniform and I must say that I am quite pleased to see it outside of a funeral.”

 

He let Q exhaust himself before carefully placing the frame back where he got it from and then dropping Q in the bed, tightly wrapping him up in all the covers he could find – just then noticing that under his bathrobe, Q wore one of James’ old t-shirts – and then held a spoonful of syrup to his lips.

 

“If you help me free my hands, I can take the syrup myself,” Q said between clenched teeth, frowning. “I’ll even go as far as to show you the wedding ring.”

 

“I am sure you have the ring around your neck, just as James, so you do not need free hands,” Alec said, smirking. “Now open wide, he added and pushed the spoon closer right against the tightly closed mouth, Q rolling his eyes and finally gave in, hissing when Alec ruffled his greasy hair – which still looked like silk. “Might I ask why I was kept in the dark about you two tying the knot? I would have been happy and congratulated you as even though James and I shared a bed or ten in the past, we care for each other in a different way than lovers would.”

 

Q frowned and opened his mouth, and then common sense must have struck him because he looked embarrassed. “I was of the opinion that you needed time to adjust yourself to the new MI6 before this surprise was sprung on you. I also wanted you to get to know me just in case you didn’t like me and started to pester James into getting a divorce.”

 

He didn’t know if he should find Q adorable or tug on his ears for being that insecure – in the end he settled for flicking his nose which resulted in Q cussing him and him shoving all the boxes of napkins he could find in his arms. “I am crass; I generally act without thinking—”

 

“I can’t wait for the missions in which you and James will be paired off,” Q grumbled, sniffling. “I will get two heart attacks at the price of one.”

 

Alec glanced at Q’s red nose and flicked it in his mind. “What I was trying to say that I may be a lot of things, but I am not as heartless as to ask James to get rid of the person he loves unless I knew without a doubt that they had ill intent. And you, my dear Quartermaster turned brother-in-law,” he gave the man a soft squeeze that still resulted in him wincing in pain as all of his bones cracked, “may be ill, but you do not have such intent.”

 

He made to hug him again, but Q sneezed and then started to cough, almost chocking on the spoonful of syrup Alec shoved in his mouth. “I’m going to pass out if you keep giving me that,” warned Q and somehow managed to wiggle enough to lift his leg to keep the other at bay. “Now, care to tell me why you’re here? Did something happen to James?” He breathed out, eyes filled with panic.

 

“Actually, I was bored and I thought I could use his console to make the time go faster,” Alec said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

Q instantly relaxed and his head disappeared between the pillows, his cats hoping up on the bed, one curling up against his back and one against his chest. “Please make sure to use the headphones if you’re going to play a shooting game and fear not; I’ve connected them to the house’ security system, so if something is wrong, the sound will instantly cut off and connect you with MI6.”

 

Alec spent the rest of the day getting his ass handed back to him by a bunch of _kids_ who kept on mocking him for being a noob and laughing at him when he proclaimed that he really was an assassin and that if they were enemies of the state, he’d show them.

 

Q hit him in the head with a pillow when he got ready to throw the controller out the window because, even though he had the best weapon in the game, he got killed with a knife. “I have enough work fixing that bloody thing when James loses his temper with it,” Q shouted from the bedroom, instantly starting to cough and wheeze.

 

Worried, Alec actually tried to be helpful by giving him even more coughing syrup, but Q was less than happy – or thankful – for that. “I’ll shove that bottle up your arse if you come near me with it,” he warned and proved that he knew his cats could be used as weapons because he lifted one and held it in front of his face.

 

“Fine, I’ll keep the syrup away from you,” he conceded after he spilled about half of the bottle on the floor that Q expected him to mop up. “But I will make you some soup. And not that thing all university students eat, even though you do look like—”

 

He was hit in the face with a thick book.   

 

***

 

James forgot about the long flight and all of his wounds the second his eyes landed on Q. He didn’t even feel the sharp stabbing pain when he moved his arm to wrap it around his healthy looking husband, covering his head in kisses and soaking up his body heat, finally feeling happy, safe, and relaxed.

 

“Darling, don’t think that you’ll make me forget about your wounds with your kisses,” Q muttered against his lips, carefully caressing the side of his face. “So many cuts and so many bruises…” he trailed off, clicking his tongue and James was quick to rub their noses together, his silent way of apologizing. “I’m still crossed with you; R told me jumped off the building because it was faster than taking the elevator.”

 

“Also safer as the elevator was filled with armed henchmen,” James said in his defence, slowly dragging his hands down Q’s back as he brushed their lips together. “I will give you a fully detailed mission report if you want one.” He hated reports, shunned them as if they were the plague, but he was willing to make one just for his husband – he will, of course, conveniently forget to mention the little torture session he had to endure.

 

Q cupped his face and gave him a chaste kiss and then pecked his nose and his forehead, looking a tad worried. “Do you need to go to medical?” James shook his head and Q frowned, tugging on his ears a bit. “I didn’t ask if you _want_ to go there, but if you _need_ to go there.”

 

“I don’t want to nor do I need to,” James insisted, dipping Q back a bit and stealing another kiss from him. “Now let’s go home because I need a shower and you.” His pinched Q’s backside to make his point and Q pushed closer to him, his tease of a husband making sure to accidentally rub against him. “I’ll have you all the way to Sunday and back for that, you little minx,” James growled in his ear and bit it, making Q whimper and hold on tighter to him.

 

A rather insisted cough interrupted his ear nuzzling and out of habit, James pushed Q to his chest and moved to cover him just in case someone decided to empty their gun in his back – never mind that someone with that intent would never make himself know.

 

“Do I need to keep one of you in the front with me while I drive you back home to avoid getting pulled over for indecent exposure or whatever?” He joked and James subtly glanced at Q, silently asking him if he was okay with revealing just how close they really were.

 

But Q missed that, too busy nuzzling his chest and draw lazy circle around where James’ nipple – so yeah, Alec was probably going to have to keep them separated. “I hope you don’t plan on using your console any time soon because this one managed to spill _burning_ soup on it. And I do mean burning, mind you. With flames and smoke and everything because 006 over there—”

 

“James, tell him to let it go already,” Alec whined. “I’ve been ‘006’ for one week now and those cats of him are definitely an extension of his anger because they confuse my legs for scratching posts.”  

 

James hummed and twirled a little with Q in his arms, turning his back to Alec. “Didn’t he fix your branch, love?” Q’s eye twitched. “Alec, you best make that wall white again or you’ll have robotic cats use you as a scratching post.”

 

Alec let out a dramatic sigh, leaning against James’ shoulder. “How can you be so cruel to your—” He was stopped when he heard a little moan and when he poked James’ side to point out the security guards that were awkwardly shuffling around them, he got pushed away as the two deepened the kiss. “You bunch of ungrateful love birds,” he grumbled and threw just jacket over their heads.  

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are love and food for the muse <3


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